Tag Archives: Battle of Spotsylvania Court House

Fredericksburg National Cemetery has the largest number of unidentified soldiers anywhere in the National Cemetery System. Last Saturday evening, at one of the tour stops for the cemetery’s annual Memorial Day luminaria ceremony, I had the privilege of talking about … Continue reading →

Iv stood today at Spotsyvlania’s Bloody Angle, at the site of the 22-inch oak tree felled by small-arms fire. Rain fell, as it did on this date in 1864 during most of the battle. For twenty-two hours, the fight raged … Continue reading →

I first got to know John Sedgwick during the Chancellorsville campaign. Back in the early 2000-teens, Kris White and I were working on Chancellorsville’s Forgotten Front: The Battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church. Sedgwick, as commander of the Federal … Continue reading →

About twenty years ago my parents bought me a Civil War painting by Ray W. Forquer. The painting, “Christmas on the Rappahannock,” has always been one of my favorites. It’s not the artistry that I love so much, but the … Continue reading →

What is it that attracts us to particular individuals of the past? I think the answer varies from person to person. We all have people who we tend to gravitate towards in our studies. For readers of this blog, friends … Continue reading →

At the Friday evening panel session of the Third Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge, an audience member asked a question that I answered and Chris Kolakowski expanded upon. The topic of the discussion was “Great Attacks of … Continue reading →

Dr. Chris Mackowski is one of the founders of Emerging Civil War, as well as a very popular speaker on the Civil War roundtable circuit. Chris is a professor of journalism and mass communications at St. Bonaventure University. Currently he serves as … Continue reading →

We’re getting ready for a wedding this afternoon here at Stevenson Ridge. Teal, peach, and off-white pom-poms festoon the fireplace in the chapel, and spider-thin curly-que candelabras, also teal, sit at the center of each table. A sign in the … Continue reading →

Time is running out! Please be sure to book your room for the Second Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge. There are a few hotel rooms left at the special $92.00 per night rate at the Hampton Inn … Continue reading →

It can be hard when researching primary sources from the American Civil War to separate ourselves from the big-picture understanding that we have of the momentous struggle. We know the final outcome and the logical pattern that led to the … Continue reading →